Adaptive inductive power supply
First Claim
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1. A contactless power supply for supplying power wirelessly to an electrically powered remote device comprising:
- a tank circuit having a primary for transferring power to said electrically powered remote device by an inductive coupling, said electrically powered remote device having a secondary in electrical communication with a load, said tank circuit having a resonant frequency;
drive circuitry for applying power at a rail voltage to said tank circuit, said circuitry applying said power at an operating frequency and a duty cycle;
a controller coupled to said drive circuitry, said controller configured to actively vary said resonant frequency of said tank circuit; and
throttling circuitry coupled to said tank circuit, said throttling circuitry for throttling said power.
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Abstract
A contactless power supply has a dynamically configurable tank circuit powered by an inverter. The contactless power supply is inductively coupled to one or more loads. The inverter is connected to a DC power source. When loads are added or removed from the system, the contactless power supply is capable of modifying the resonant frequency of the tank circuit, the inverter frequency, the inverter duty cycle or the rail voltage of the DC power source.
121 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A contactless power supply for supplying power wirelessly to an electrically powered remote device comprising:
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a tank circuit having a primary for transferring power to said electrically powered remote device by an inductive coupling, said electrically powered remote device having a secondary in electrical communication with a load, said tank circuit having a resonant frequency; drive circuitry for applying power at a rail voltage to said tank circuit, said circuitry applying said power at an operating frequency and a duty cycle; a controller coupled to said drive circuitry, said controller configured to actively vary said resonant frequency of said tank circuit; and throttling circuitry coupled to said tank circuit, said throttling circuitry for throttling said power. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of operating an inductive power supply for an electrically powered remote device, the method including the steps of:
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applying power to a tank circuit within the inductive power supply; establishing an inductive coupling between the inductive power supply and the electrically powered remote device, wherein the electrically powered remote device has a secondary in electrical communication with a load; monitoring at least one operating parameter of the inductive power supply after establishing the inductive coupling; based upon said monitoring step, configuring the inductive power supply by actively adjusting a resonant frequency of a tank circuit; and throttling the power applied to the tank circuit. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A contactless power supply for transferring power to a secondary electrically coupled to an electrically powered load and separable from said contactless power supply, said contactless power supply comprising:
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a tank circuit having a primary for transferring power to said secondary by an inductive coupling, said tank circuit having a resonant frequency, wherein said power is supplied to said electrically powered load electrically coupled to said secondary; an inverter coupled to said tank circuit, said inverter applying power to said tank circuit at an operating frequency; and control circuitry coupled to said inverter, said control circuitry adapted to actively adjust a resonant frequency of said tank circuit, said control circuitry further adapted to throttle phase. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification